Google Maps Shows ‘Lake America’ to U.S. Users After Trump Order

Google Maps has begun displaying “Lake America” instead of “Lake Ontario” for users in the United States, following President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the body of water. Google announced the change Saturday, two days after Trump signed the order amid escalating trade tensions between the United States and Canada.

Google said it sources geographical names from official government records, and in this case the updated designation comes from the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). The “Lake America” name is visible to users in the United States, while Google Maps users in Canada continue to see “Lake Ontario.” People accessing the service from countries outside the U.S. and Canada are shown both names.

Trump signed the executive order on Thursday directing the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the renaming within 30 days. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a separate order that same day instructing the Board on Geographic Names to update the GNIS. Burgum described the lake as “an integral asset to America,” citing its role as an important route for the country’s early trade and commerce as well as a significant economic resource.

The renaming has drawn criticism from Canadian officials. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Lake Ontario’s name is more than 400 years old and predates both the Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence. “Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario – then, now and always,” Carney said in a social media post.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also pushed back against the change, putting up a 24-by-12-foot bilingual sign in Grimsby, Ontario, on Saturday identifying the lake by its Canadian name. In an announcement video, Ford said, “Long before President Trump, this lake was called Lake Ontario,” and added that “long after President Trump is gone, it will still be called Lake Ontario.”

Google has made similar changes to its mapping service following Trump’s previous efforts to rename geographic features. The company now displays “Mount McKinley” rather than Denali for users in the United States. Trump issued an executive order in January 2025, on his first day of his second term, reversing former President Barack Obama’s 2015 decision to officially rename the mountain Denali. The surrounding national park continues to be officially known as Denali National Park under the National Park Service.

Trump also signed an order in January 2025 changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Google subsequently adopted different labels based on users’ locations: people in the United States see “Gulf of America,” those in Mexico see “Gulf of Mexico,” and users elsewhere see both names. Google has said the approach follows its longstanding practice of applying geographic name changes once they appear in official government sources.

The Lake Ontario dispute comes as U.S.-Canada trade relations have deteriorated. Trump’s decision to rename the lake followed Canadian negotiators’ withdrawal from trade discussions after Carney characterized U.S. demands as unfair. U.S. tariffs covering an estimated $28 billion worth of Canadian goods then took effect, prompting Canada to announce 50% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel, dairy products, electronics and other goods the following week.